190. The "Long Hair" Radical: 髟

When you hear "long hair" and "radical," you may picture unwashed hippies spread out across the Woodstock lawn or long-haired students protesting the Vietnam War. But of course that's not what we're talking about with the "long hair" radical!

Japanese Names of the "Long Hair" Radical

When this radical appears at the top of a kanji (which is always the case for both Joyo and non-Joyo characters), we can use these more specific names:

髪頭 (かみがしら: the "long hair" radical on top)hair on the head + radical on top of a kanji

髪冠 (かみかんむり: the "long hair" radical on top)hair on the head + radical on top of a kanji

A few notes about this:

• No one would use only 髟 for the radical name because it sounds identical to 髪 (かみ: hair on the head). In fact, that's where 髟 gets its yomi; as an autonomous non-Joyo character, 髟 just has the yomi of ヒョウ.

Just One Joyo Kanji

I mentioned this kanji in the first bulleted note above. You probably know 髪 best by its kun-yomi, かみ.

If you're eager to see more of 髟, essay 1706 on 髪 includes non-Joyo characters with this radical, such as 髷 (topknot) and 鬢 (sideburns). In fact, the latter kanji appears in this whopper of a compound:

鬢髪 (びんぱつ: hair on the temples; hair on the sides of the head)

It takes 38 strokes to write "hair on the temples"! Our "long hair" radical requires 10 strokes, so that accounts for 20 of the 38 strokes!

Photo Credit: Eve Kushner

In Vancouver, Canada, a store sells skin and hair products, as the top line indicates: